Chances are, unless you are really invested in the Eugene music scene, you haven’t heard the name Ehren Ebbage. But chances are greater that you have at one time seen him play and have some music on your iTunes featuring members of his backing band. In time spent split between Los Angeles and Eugene, Ebbage has played with two premiere Oregon bands, toured across the nation several times over, played with some of LA’s premier musicians and sound engineers, and recorded an EP playing everything but the kitchen sink. As a musician, Ebbage is as seasoned and versatile as they come; and this Saturday he will be celebrating the release of “Ten Cent Souvenir,” his first full-length release.
Since the time he started, Ebbage has always played a supporting role for other bands fronted by other musicians. Be it playing guitar or drums, country or punk rock, he’s been there and played it all. Ebbage first rose to prominence as part of Justin King and The Apologies, one of the biggest acts to come out of Eugene this decade. The Apologies took Ebbage around the world and to heights unheard of as the band signed with Epic Records in 2005. The band turned into a full-time job for him as it pressed on to break into national prominence. The time commitment, band quarrels and label disagreements that subsequently got Justin King dropped from Epic taught Ebbage an important life lesson: Don’t take this music thing so seriously.
“I left the band because at some point a band gets so serious that that’s all you do. There was no time for anything else; it just felt out of balance,” Ebbage said. “I don’t want to only be a touring musician. My long-term goal is to produce records, so I can work in music during the day but still go home to my wife and kids at night.”
If his time spent on a major label alienated him from the rock-and-roll lifestyle, it also landed him some serious connections in the biz. After Ebbage left Justin King’s band, he began playing, recording and engineering his debut EP, “Bottlerocket.” While it gave him the freedom to pursue all of his musical ideas, he admits that his musical shortcomings often tended to get in the way of what he was trying to do. “I was recording the record, but it just wasn’t coming out the way it should. I wanted it to be a lot better, but I’m not that great an engineer,” he said.
Ebbage decided to put his connections to the test and landed Zac Rae, a producer and old college friend of one of The Apologies, to help him record “Ten Cent Souvenir.” Rae, who has produced for Fiona Apple and Gnarls Barkley, agreed to produce Ebbage’s record free of charge in his LA studio. They recruited some of LA’s finest session musicians to back up Ebbage; drummer Blair Sinta played with Alanis Morissette and Annie Lennox and bassist Sean Hurley has played with Alicia Keys.
“With this album I was able to reflect more of my personal sound. With ‘Bottlerocket,’ I was doing everything, so it was more about discovering recording techniques and using it on record,” he said. “On this one, Zac was able to help me find the exact mood for my songs to reflect my goals as a writer.”
While taking a break from touring with Portland up-and-comers the Dimes, Ebbage will be putting his new album on display at Sam Bond’s Saturday night as well as all through Oregon in the next couple months. The show starts at 9 p.m. and CDs will be available months before their proper release.
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